WATCH: Rick Wilson Lets Kevin McCarthy Have It Both Barrels After He Cancels Gingrich Contract Reboot

The GOP has no leadership. It is a rudderless hulk tossing on a sea of unforgiving circumstance and steering its way amongst the flotsam and jetsam of years of bad decision making. It’s amazing it’s still moving at all. The last election of recognizable Republicans was 2012. By 2015 the only remaining old guard candidate was Jeb! The rest of the 16 klowns in the kar were outliers, long shots, and the game show host. All of them put together didn’t equal one frontline presidential candidate, as that term used to be understood by the yous and mes.

What’s left of the party is headed by Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy. McConnell is not a policy man, never was. He understands the chess game that legislation is and he’s a master at it. Power is his native tongue, he understands no other. As to McCarthy, he’s a weak sister by almost any historical yardstick, but he does have a consuming passion to be Speaker of the House when the gavel passes to the GOP, as it inevitably will, when the pendulum of history swings back that way.

To speed things along and at least give the appearance of leadership, McCarthy dug out the old Newt Gingrich Contract With America from 1994 a few weeks ago, dusted it off, and changed the title to Commitment To America. That jewel was to be unveiled in Pittsburgh tonight, September 19. Then McCarthy canceled. Axios:

Why it matters: Remember the GOP’s “Contract with America” in 1994? It made promises on cutting taxes and government and other conservative ideals and was released six weeks before President Clinton’s first midterms. Republicans enjoyed massive wins that year and flipped control of the House and Senate.

What we’re hearing: This document will be much smaller. It aims to give Republicans a unified message to run on in the final stretch before November, saying they are committed to:

• “An economy that is strong“: This section specifically focuses on inflation, high gas prices, supply chain issues and competition with China. McCarthy advises members to pledge to “put an end to ‘Build Back Better’ and eliminate wasteful government spending.”

• “A nation that is safe“: With a focus on crime and immigration, Republicans vow to “secure the Southern border,” “reduce crime and stop Fentanyl” and “defend our national security.”

• “A future that is free“: Section headers include “make sure every kid in every neighborhood can succeed,” “better care and improved health outcomes for all Americans” and “confront Big Tech and advance free speech.”

• “A government that is accountable“: The final section emphasizes the extent of the oversight efforts Republicans are promising next year if they take back the majority, including a pledge to “ensure safe and fair elections.”

Worth noting: The document does not reference former President Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election, which are supported by hundreds of GOP nominees across the country, according to a new FiveThirtyEight analysis.

At least McCarthy had enough sense not to push the Big Lie but otherwise he must be asleep. This might have flown in 1994 when the GOP swept the election and took the House with a 52 seat gain, but today? The 1994 election was touted as a “political earthquake,” the largest net partisan swing since 1948. Can McCarthy seriously think that something like that could happen this November?

In any event, Rick Wilson knows bloody good and well what year this is and what’s going on and he takes McCarthy to the woodshed. Get an icepack for your ears, Kevin, you’re going to need it.

When we heard this morning that Kevin McCarthy had plans to feed Americans recycled garbage political plans from the 1990s, LP co-founder @TheRickWilson had to respond. pic.twitter.com/dPiS3P67kM

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 19, 2022

So I guess we wait for this opus of McCarthy’s to come out on Friday, although frankly, if I had to lay odds right now, I think that cooler heads will prevail and somebody will talk him out of it, maybe Gingrich himself, who knows?

Here’s more on this from the Lincoln Project.

.@GOPLeader is recycling an old GOP classic with a new Contract On America. (Oops, WITH America). A "plan" vomited out of a focus group, not any conservative philosophy, making promises they have no intention of keeping.

Joe Biden is already doing what they're only promising. pic.twitter.com/Aa8nuVeJVv

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 19, 2022

Let’s see what McCarthy has to say on Friday. I think this “legislation” is going to be stillborn, but maybe there’s something I’m not seeing. McConnell wants to run on anti-Biden. McCarthy and a few other stray GOPers think Contract With America 1.5 is the answer. Okey doke. What I know for sure is it’s 49 days until the election and a bit late to change horses in midstream.

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